Google Performance Max: Unlock its potential for your business with key benefits

Google Performance Max: Unlock its potential for your business with key benefits
Micky Weis
Micky Weis

15 years of experience in online marketing. Former CMO at, among others, Firtal Web A/S. Blogger about marketing and the things I’ve experienced along the way. Follow me on LinkedIn for daily updates.

Is Google Performance Max the right choice for your business?

In recent years, Google Ads has significantly focused on making ‘performance marketing’ easier and faster to get started with.

This is evident with their launch of the campaign format ‘Performance Max.’ According to Google, it’s now easier to achieve better results in line with your specific goals while maintaining an overview of your ads across Google’s channels.

(Disclaimer: This doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the whole truth. There are many differing opinions on the Performance Max format, so it’s important to approach it with caution).

When it comes to Google, there are many terms to keep track of: Google Adwords, Google Analytics, Google Search Console, etc. I’ve gathered the most relevant ones in my digital dictionary, which you can reference anytime.

But who is Performance Max for, and what benefits can businesses gain from it? I’ll dive into that below. However, note that some of the advantages mentioned below can be viewed from two perspectives. Keep in mind that Performance Max (and its benefits) may not apply universally.

Benefits of Google Performance Max

  • As a business owner, you have the opportunity to quickly and easily get started with Performance Max. Google has tried to make it as simple as possible to get your ads up and running across everything from Google and YouTube to Display destinations.
  • It can be time-saving to use this campaign format, as you have the opportunity to take advantage of many of Google’s products without investing a lot of time and resources.
  • Google’s machine learning can utilize a large amount of data across its platforms, which you can benefit from through Performance Max.

Current disadvantages and challenges of Google Performance Max

At the time of writing this post, there are some clear disadvantages to Performance Max that you can’t avoid. Some of the most notable challenges are listed below.

  • Google is very restrictive with the data you get from the ‘machine.’ You won’t be able to see which keywords your ads have been shown for, and it can be extremely difficult to figure out where your ads have been displayed (Google Search, Shopping, YouTube, Display, etc.).
  • If you don’t upload quality assets (videos, images, etc.), you risk Google creating, for example, a YouTube ad video for your Performance Max campaign — and they’re not exactly impressive. This can do more harm than good.
  • If you want to add negative keywords to your campaign, this has to be done through a roundabout method. I won’t go into detail here, but it’s not as straightforward as it used to be.
  • It can be incredibly difficult to analyze useful data and make decisions from it, mostly because Google is so stingy with the data you receive from a Performance Max campaign.

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